Richard Allan

There is a saying that therapy should start anew with each client. I wholeheartedly embrace this concept. My therapy style remains fluid, and for good reason. Your world is entirely unique, and no manual or preconceived notion can fully grasp your experience. To truly understand you, I must set aside everything I think I know and genuinely listen to your story. My main priority is being alongside you as you explore whatever it is you wish to bring to our sessions. In terms of modalities, I drawn upon person-centred, existential, and psychoanalytic schools of thought. I do not favour one above the other. Instead, I am guided by you, in terms of the approach we take together. After spending years in my own therapy and training to become a psychotherapist, I have come to realise that the "solution" to our problems, if there even is one, is far more empowering than simply being "fixed" or labelled with instructions on how to handle it. It is up to us to initiate change within ourselves, to oversee our own growth, and to reclaim our narratives. Whether it’s an attempt to grow or to process something painful, to adapt or to explore something challenging, sometimes we get the sense that we can’t do everything on our own. We feel the wish for someone to be alongside us as we try to process or make sense of things. In my experience so far, I’ve learnt that we need a safe, supportive, non-judgemental space in which to do this. In other words, we need someone who will really and truly try to listen to us. I can promise to do this for you. Please don't hesitate to reach out and share what you would like to talk about. You can read more here, on my website: https://www.hearkentherapy.co.uk/

With extensive experience in the field, I have been in my own therapy for over seven years, and I have been training as a therapist since the beginning of the lockdown. Before training to be a therapist, I worked in NHS settings for 15 years in the ambulance sector.